Jalandhar, July 24
Flooded with applications from prospective candidates for the forthcoming civic body poll, the Congress has formed ward-wise panels of such candidates.

The names of the prospective candidates in the panels would be sent to the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) which is likely to finalise the names at its meeting on July 26 at Chandigarh.

More than 250 applicants have turned to the Congress committee, headed by former minister Tej Parkash Singh for the Congress ticket from 60 wards of the Jalandhar municipal corporation. Besides, Rana Gurjit Singh, MP, some other important members of the committee are former ministers Avtaar Henry and Chaudhary Jagjit Singh

While Rana Gurjit Singh said that about 40 prospective candidates had been shortlisted, Henry said panels comprising names of two to five candidates had been formed. “These panels would be sent to the party high command which is the final authority as far as selection of candidates is concerned. The response was so overwhelming that more than 250 applications have poured in,” said Henry.

District Congress chief Arun Walia said an overwhelming flow of applications for the Congress ticket was an indication that the people were fed up with the ruling SAD-BJP combine. “We would win and get the majority in the MC house,” said Walia.

Sources said the Congress was facing difficulty in choosing candidates for the wards falling in the Jalandhar (South) assembly constituency. The final list of Congress candidates was expected to come out on the evening of July 26, sources said.

Jalandhar, July 24
In a bizarre incident, an unidentified rickshaw puller was killed when he was caught in the wheels of an SUV and dragged up to half a kilometre by the reckless driver. The accident, which took in the Model Town late this evening , left two others injured.

According to the police, the SUV hit a rickshaw puller and his body was caught in its wheels. The person sitting on the rickshaw fell off and was injured severely while the car went on to hit a scooter rider. The person driving the scooter, later identified as Ramesh Sehgal (50), received injuries on his right leg and his scooter also got caught in the wheels of the SUV. The scooter was also dragged along with the body of the rickshaw puller. After dragging the body for half a kilometer the driver reversed his vehicle to get rid of the dead body and fled.

According to an eyewitness, the black-coloured SUV dragged the rickshaw puller with his legs upside down before hitting a scooter near hotel Paramount in the Model Town area. The injured were admitted to private hospitals. Two of the victims are yet to be identified according to the police. 

Jalandhar, July 24
Gurjinder Kaur, a resident of Deep Nagar, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her residence. The mother of a one-year-old son, Gurjinder in her mid twenties was married to Ravinder Singh Ravi for the past three years.

A case has been registered by the police on the complaint of the victim’s brother Rajinder Singh against four persons, including Gurjinder’s husband Ravinder Singh Ravi, mother-in-law Jagir Kaur and sister-in-law Mandeep Kaur. Till the filing of the report, investigation officer (IO) Inderpal Singh had detained Jagir Kaur and Mandeep Kaur for questioning, but had not arrested them formally.

However, both sides of the victim’s family cited different reasons for her death. While her in-laws family says she committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan, mother Gurmit Kaur alleged that she was murdered by her in-laws.

Talking to the mediapersons, Gurjinder’s brother Rajinder said, “Some neighbours of Gurjinder informed us about her death. Her in-laws didn’t even bother to inform us.”